WHY WOULD GOD USE ME?

WHY WOULD GOD USE ME?

The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" 15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." Judges 6:14-15

WHO DOES GOD MOST OFTEN USE?

1)      GOD USES THE INSECURE.

Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." Exodus 4:10

The LORD said to [Moses], "Who gave man his mouth?... Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Exodus 4:11-12

2)      GOD USES THE UNLIKELY.

…Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:6-7

3)      GOD USES THE BROKEN.

Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times."  62 And he went outside and wept bitterly. Luke 22:60-62

WHAT DOES GOD WANT TO DO THROUGH YOU?

YOU HAVE TO STEP OUT TO FIND OUT.

Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

²⁹ "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:28-29

WHY? Week One "WHY DON’T I ALWAYS FEEL GOD?"

WHY DON’T I ALWAYS FEEL GOD?

• IF YOU DON’T ALWAYS FEEL GOD’S PRESENCE, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Feelings are fleeting. Just as emotional love isn't enough to sustain a relationship but the deep, abiding love that comes with maturity will, your faith cannot be dictated by emotions. 

But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 Why, O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me? Psalm 88:13-14

WHY DON’T I ALWAYS FEEL GOD?

• MAYBE YOU ARE SENSATIONALIZING IT.

In a culture of instant gratification & an emphasis on "doing what makes us happy",  it's easy to put the responsibility for our contentment back on God.

So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” John 6:30

• MAYBE YOU’RE SIMPLY DISTRACTED.

In a hyper connected society, it's easy to live a life of constant distraction. Despite all our modern "conveniences", we're busier than ever.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. Luke 10:38-40

• MAYBE YOUR HEART HAS HARDENED.

Life is hard. Bad things happen to good people. The innocent suffer & the wicked succeed. It's easy to allow our hearts to become calloused.

You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Matthew 13:14-15

• MAYBE YOU’VE BUILT A WALL OF SIN.

Too often we like our lives & lifestyles too much to make changes. Not many like to step outside our comfort zones. 

Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. 2 But there is a problem — your sins have cut you off from God. Isaiah 59:1-2 NLT96

• MAYBE YOU DON’T KNOW GOD.

 Even the devil believes in God. Being aware of God's existence is very different from knowing Him as your personal Savior.

You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me. John 7:28-29

PRESENCE PROMISES

1)      YOU WILL FIND GOD WHEN YOU SEEK GOD.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD… Jeremiah 29:13-14

2)      YOU CAN DO LIFE WITH GOD’S PRESENCE.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. John 14:16-17 NLT96

3)      YOU CAN EXPERIENCE GOD NOW.

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:27

TALK IT OVER

•    What is keeping you from always feeling God’s presence in your life?                          

•    Share a time when you felt God’s presence in your life. How did that experience affect you?

•     What steps will you take to seek God and experience Him now? 


Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers?

Burlington Community Church

October 14, 2012

WHY—2

By Roy Dowdy

WHY DIDN’T GOD ANSWER MY PRAYER?

13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:13-14

WHY DIDN’T GOD ANSWER MY PRAYER?

·  MAYBE YOU HAVE A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:24-25

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7

·  MAYBE YOU HAVE THE WRONG MOTIVES.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures.James 4:3

All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Prov 16:2

  

·  MAYBE YOU DON’T BELIEVE GOD WILL DO IT.

“But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Mark 9:22-23

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord…

James 1:6-7

·  MAYBE GOD HAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. John 9:31

Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. Luke 22:42-43

WHAT DO I BELIEVE ABOUT PRAYER?

Prayer is not as much about my wants—as God’s will.

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us… But even if he does not…we will not serve your gods… Dan 3:17-18

·  I BELIEVE GOD CAN.

·  I BELIEVE GOD WILL.

·  EVEN IF HE DOESN’T, I STILL BELIEVE.